WORSHIP IN THE MELTING POT

Masters, Peter (2002)

Worship in the Melting Pot was written by Dr. Peter Masters, the pastor of the world famous Metropolitan Tabernacle since 1970. The Metropolitan Tabernacle was the church which C. H. Spurgeon pastored in the 19th century. Metropolitan Tabernacle has continued in the Baptist tradition of simplicity and predictability in its worship, which is in stark contrast to the pre-Reformation aesthetic (visual and/or physical) worship of Roman Catholicism and the post-modern ecstatic (feeling oriented) and profane (worldly) worship of Charismaticism and Evangelicalism.

Dr. Masters set out to answer questions such as the following: “What’s the matter with contemporary music groups? Isn’t there every kind of instrument, including percussion, in the Psalms? Didn’t they dance in worship in the Bible times?” (p. 9). He aimed to “focus on the four great pillars of worship—the principles which the Bible insists on” (p. 9).

Dr. Masters primary text for worship centered around Jesus’ answer to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:23-24: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” From here Masters identified four major deviations from biblical standards in most modern worship.

The first broken principle was that of aesthetic worship. Worship that focused on the physical trappings of art, drama, music, and performances denied the fact that true worship was worship that emanated from the spirit of man apart from any external means. Masters argued that today’s contemporary worship with its bands, orchestras, lighting, and dance has become a throwback to the Roman Catholic emphasis on the physical to please the Lord.  Great performances and production do not make, and in fact, may actually destroy, true worship.

The second broken principle was that of ecstatic worship. Worship that attempted to generate feelings at the expense of rationality denied the biblical principle of worshipping in truth. Modern worship tended to “dumb down” the songs, messages, and anything else that might cause a seriousness of thought on the part of the worshippers. Modern choruses were theologically shallow (if not down right wrong) and repetitive, and were used to generate an emotional state of satisfaction and happiness. Masters argued that emotions should be involved in worship, but only after the mind was engaged and made fully aware of the great truths found in Scripture.

The third broken principle was that of profane worship. Worship that adopted the styles and elements of the world that were directly associated with and used to promote anti-Christian themes and rebellion was worship that was worldly and profane. Worship has always maintained a separation from that which was evil; Christian worship was holy. Masters noted that the current trend arose out of two blending streams: [1] the Jesus People of California that refused to leave their “hippie mysticism” behind, and [2] worldly Christianity that wanted worship music to be like secular rock. These two were immediately adopted in Charismatic circles, which gave rise to almost all the new idioms of worship.

The fourth broken principle was that of reverence. Reverence and godliness ought to characterize Christian worship and Masters argued that when this was lost, everything else went. He showed how a reverence in worship affected not only the believer’s demeanor at church, but also his dress, his behavior, his values, and even his personality.

Masters debunked the myths that the great hymn writers such as Martin Luther borrowed from profane secular music. He spent time showing what kind of instrumentation was used for Old Testament worship and why dance, lifting of hands, and unrestrained percussion were not to be used. He focused on several worship passages in Scripture which gave rise to the traditions used for generations in Protestant churches. He evaluated the Charismatic argument of spontaneous worship and showed that God’s plan was that things were done decently and in order. He has some helpful charts that showed the similarity between the topics in traditional hymnals and the topics from the Psalms.  He spent a great part of the book dealing with prayer in worship and gave a number of recommendations and biblical examples for public prayers.

The book was refreshing in that it completely avoided discussions of musical genres. Rock, pop, country, jazz, blues—who cared? The issue was one of biblical principles and the consequent rejection of all that failed to live up to the Bible standard. This book should be a serious read for all who are concerned about worship. Many fundamental churches fall far short of the ideals articulated during the Reformation and reaffirmed here by Masters, even if they have not fallen prey to the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) movement.

While this reviewer did not necessarily agree with every specific conclusion put forth, Dr. Masters has presented a well articulated case against the modern worship trends. When one takes away the emotions involved in our worship and deals specifically with the biblical texts and arguments in this book, there will be little left to support the deviations Evangelicals–and Fundamentalists–have embraced over the last forty years.